Unlock Your Bass Groove Potential with This Syncopated Funk Riff
Groove No. 59
This groove is taken from the Groove Trainer Course Vol. 1 and features plenty of syncopation and an anacrusis. The emphasis here is to play on the off beats, giving it that slightly jaunty funk vibe. The off beats are indicated on the stave below with ties over the bar line.
These off beat, pushes can be quite tricky to play if you’re just starting out.. especially the anacrusis! This just means that you start ahead of a full count in of 4, you start playing the piece on the ‘and’ of 4.
Finding where to play on the off beats can be a challenge, so try to tap a foot and you’ll notice that the down beats play as your foot comes down, whereas the off beats play when your foot is in the air and lifted off the ground. You can hear these accented on the drum track.
A good way of getting your head around this, is to play straight 8th notes with a metronome counting four and you play the off beats in the spaces were there’s no click.. or, tap your foot and notice where the down and off beats land. Just think; down beats = foot down, off beats = foot up/off.
Great lesson!